Runaway
by cheekymonkey34
Summary: Gabe's life had always been pretty sweet.Until the day it all comes crashing down. Follow Gabe as he comes to terms with who he really is and what family really means.
1. Escape

~Prologue~

It's funny how a couple of words can change your life. For Gabe Duncan, it only took two to send him far away from without a name to call his own, nowhere to sleep at night, thirty-five dollars, and the clothes on his back. This is his story: the story of Gabe.

Chapter 1 – The Escape

He could hear the footsteps chasing him down the street. Streams of perspiration ran down his face and his brown hair was damp with sweat. He knew he would not be able to run much longer. Still, he could not stop now. He had come too far. He couldn't go back home, not now, not _ever_. The looks on his parents' faces alone would be enough to send him bolting out the door. Maybe his pursuer was as tired as he was and would slow down. "Gabe!" the voice screamed, "Stop running! Gabe ignored her yelling. He couldn't give up now. It was too late to turn back. Gabe glanced over his shoulder. Teddy's cheeks were flushed red and her pace was gradually becoming slower. If he was lucky maybe he could get away. All he needed was a taxi. "Taxi! Taxi!" he yelled, slowing down and finally coming to a complete stop. Teddy reached out her hand grabbed his wrist in an iron grip. "Let me go," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Gabe," Teddy pleaded, "Don't go."

The sad look in her eyes made him want to hug her tight, never let her go, and let her guide him back home , where he belonged. _At least that's where I used to belong_, Gabe thought, _but now I'm not so sure. Plus that's the sappiest thing I've ever heard. _Gabe looked at her with pain in eyes and did what he knew he had to do. As much as it hurt him to do it, Gabe performed the Flying Scissor Inflictor kick, a move he had invented in karate class that never seemed to work. However, this time it did .His hand immediately slipped from her grasp and he tumbled into the taxi that had pulled up beside them.

Gabe looked into the taxi driver's grubby face and said calmly, "I'd like to go to Marv's Grill, please." The driver nodded and started to drive away.

The last thing Gabe saw of Teddy as they drove away was her face twisted in pain with tears rolling down them, mouthing the words,_ I still love you_.

* * *

"Here we are. This is the nicest place in town." the taxi driver exclaimed while chuckling huskily.

Gabe pondered whether he should laugh or not to be polite, even though he got the joke but didn't find it very funny.

The alleys that surrounded Marv's Grill were swarmed with seedy men who seemed to spend all their lives smoking in the dirty alley. Squashed cigarettes and crushed beer bottles littered the floor. Gabe was cautious around those men, ignoring their slurred invitations to join them. Despite the slum-like conditions around the restaurant, Gabe knew Marv's Grill would provide a quiet place to think about why he had left home. Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts. Gabe soon realized it was the guy who was driving the cab. Gabe had been too lost in thought to notice that the man had been talking to him.

"Hey, kid, are ya gonna pay up or what?" the taxi driver questioned angrily.

"Huh? Sorry. I'll get you the money." Gabe replied

He rifled through his wallet to find he had thirty-five dollars. Gabe couldn't afford to lose too much of the small amount of savings he had in his wallet, so he slapped one dollar into the taxi driver's hairy hand and bounded out of the cab.

"Hey , that ain't near what it costs to get here! You should be glad I ain't gonna go after a little kid or else I woulda-" Gabe could hear nothing else of the cab driver's rant as the man sped away. This is it, Gabe thought, I'm on my own now. And with that Gabe opened the doors to Marv's Grill, waving goodbye to life as he knew it.


	2. Marv's Grill

Chapter 2

**Marv's Grill**

"Hey, Gabe! What can I get for you today?" asked Marv, with the usual bright smile and friendly cheer he always seemed to have, even on the worst of days. He was a friendly man with close-cropped blond hair and a slim figure, despite his enormous appetite. Gabe usually came to the restaurant after baseball practice to wait his dad to pick him up so he knew the usual crowd. No one really came except for elderlies who didn't buy anything and the other members of Gabe's baseball team. The food was decent and the employees were nice enough, but what he really loved to do was play pranks. It surprised him how many things you could do at a restaurant to get a laugh. But today, Gabe only planned to grab a hamburger and think about where he was going to sleep at night.

"I just want a hamburger, please." said Gabe. He felt tired and weary and there was no way he was going to pull a prank today. Marv eyed him warily and handed Gabe a burger that looked like it had been frozen and reheated several times before.

"It's on the house," Marv said "But don't tell anyone I've been letting you get free food." He smiled and reached forward to ruffle his dark hair.

Gabe slumped into an empty chair and the food in silence. While he chewed, he thought. Why was he here? _It really all started a long time ago_, Gabe realized. And in the fifteen minutes he stayed at Marv's Grill, Gabriel Duncan replayed his whole life.

Gabe had always had a terrible long term memory. In fact, his first memory was when he was six years old instead of three like most of his friends or life in the womb like his friend Danny, who claimed to remember every event in his short twelve year long life.

But that day when he was six, Gabe had uncovered a vital clue about his real family and little Gabe Duncan did not know it then but the six-year old had been living a life of lies.

He remembered saying to his mom in the middle of dinner, "How come I don't look like anyone in my family?" It was an innocent question but it had caused so much drama. Amy had frozen and even Bob couldn't provide the little boy with an answer. However, no one could deny it, because compared to his blonde- haired and blue-eyed family; Gabe looked like he could be a part of an entirely different family. Teddy, who had been ten, then, replied through a mouthful of mashed potatoes, "That's because you're not part of the family and Mommy and Daddy didn't get you from the hospital."

PJ, then twelve, immediately looked up from the plate of peas he had been playing with. His bright blue focused sternly on Teddy's brown ones and whispered fiercely, "You're not supposed to say that! You're gonna be in so much trouble!" He ran his fingers through his shaggy blond hair while shaking his head at her and laughing a bit at whatever her punishment might be.

Bob had looked at Teddy with wild eyes and forced her to her room. While she sulked upstairs, Bob explained that Gabe was special but just as much a part as everyone else. Little Gabe had accepted that explanation and went back to happily eating his mashed potatoes.

But then today they had finally told him the truth: he was adopted. Though he had kind of seen it coming it hurt a lot more to hear the words coming out of his dad's lips. All the anger, pain, heartbreak, and sadness had come down at the same time and not being able to handle it, he'd run away causing Teddy to chase him. And now he couldn't handle the flow of emotions overpowering him right now. Tears poured from eyes and he decided to do the only thing that stopped emotions: running.

* * *

Okay, that chapter pretty much filled you in on everything that's happened before the story started, plus you got some background everyone who reads review especially the people in my other story.

Just press the button!


	3. Talkin' 'Bout Marv

Chapter 3

**Talkin' 'Bout Marv**

Marv Daniels was not a stupid man. From the first look he seemed to be all looks and no brains, but a person could only think that if they didn't know Marv. But since no one wants to hear Marv's life story, I'll get to the important part: what Marv has to do with Gabe.

On the Tuesday afternoon Gabe walked into Marv's little restaurant, Marv could immediately tell something was wrong. Gone was the smile that usually decorated his face and in its place was a frown. The brown eyes that usually twinkled with mischief were dull and faded. He was not clad in his red and white Little League uniform and did not have a bat in his hand.

Something was definitely up.

His suspicions were confirmed when Gabe had run out the restaurant, knocking his chair over in the process without even a word to explain his actions.

Something was wrong. And Marv was going to figure out what.

* * *

Sorry it was so short. There isn't much to say about Marv. Next chapter will go back to the Duncans and will probably be the longest chapter yet. Read and review!And to Momal FRox ,I'm still up on that offer. Plus, go back to the previous chapters and see the changes I've made. Thanks for reading!


	4. A Family in Distress

Chapter 4

**A Family in Distress**

Gabe had been gone for five days.

The first couple of hours he wasn't there, they weren't that worried. They assumed he would come back by evening time.

By late afternoon of the second day, the Duncans began to worry. The phoned the local police and asked the neighbors if they had seen him.

On the third day, PJ made posters and helped Teddy put them all across town. You could tell the posters were PJ's handiwork because he spelled "missing" wrong and the 'D' of "child" was backwards. The family also had a short segment on the local news. PJ could still hear the reporter's annoying voice ringing in his ears and could recall the whole news segment, "Hello, Denver. I'm Tanya Stevens and I'm sending that news right to you! A local family's twelve-year-old son has run away from home. He looks like this:" A picture of Gabe from his 12th birthday flashed briefly across the screen. "He is about 5'3 and weighs 115 pounds. Gabe is reported to be turning thirteen next week. Restaurant owner Marvin Daniels sighted the boy in the Westfield/Rockville area by his restaurant, Marv's Grill. If anyone spots Gabe, please call 303-940-6666." He had seen the news report several times before, but every time the segment ended and the reporter went on to talk about puppies being adopted from the Darwin Animal Shelter, he wanted to throw the remote right at Tanya's makeup-covered face.

On the fourth day, the family began to get frantic. Amy stayed home from asked everyone he knew if they had seen his "little boy". Charlie walked around, pulling on anyone she saw pant leg, and asking, "Where's Gabe? Where's Gabe?" Teddy cried silent tears at night, remembering their last exchange. PJ secretly wished his little brother would come home so he could give him a noogie and everything would go back to normal. He wouldn't even admit to himself that he missed Gabe as much as everyone else did.

On the fifth day, things got serious.

Now, the Duncans could only hope for the best. They had no idea where he was and hadn't called or communicated with them since his disappearance. Almost a week was a long time to go missing in a city like Denver, if he _was_ still there.

The family could only hope he was alright.

"Six days. Gabe's been gone for six whole days." said PJ as he entered the kitchen.

He didn't get an answer. Not that he expected one.

Nothing was same anymore.

Mom didn't cook anymore (not that he was upset about that with her cooking). She spent most of her day moaning on her bed and praying for her son back. Mom didn't even seem to care that she was three months pregnant with her fifth child. Her stomach swelled with the baby, but she neglected her doctor's appointments.

Dad, with bloodshot eyes and his dark blond hair thinning more rapidly than usual, did his best to find Gabe. He scoured the streets during the day and drank several mugs of strong coffee at night. His attempts to find Gabe were in vain, for Dad didn't know where he would look before he went off to find Gabe and oftentimes came home quite desperate and a little drunk. He barely spoke and when he did his voice was barely above a hoarse whisper. Dad even seemed to be losing weight.

Charlie desperately wanted to know where Gabe was and wasn't sure what was happening around her. She was ignored by everyone except PJ ,who did his best to help her since they were the only ones in the house who weren't drowning in tears or ignoring the world around them.

Teddy, well, Teddy seemed to be taking it worst of all. She rarely left her room and whenever PJ caught a glimpse of her she looked worse than she did after she broke up with Spencer.

It seemed now that PJ was in charge of the family. He cooked, cleaned, and made the beds while the rest of the family was in the kitchen, pushing their meals around their plates.

He hated the way everyone seemed to give up, like they were so sure Gabe was already dead. How could they hope for him to come back home, if they thought he had died a couple days ago? Where was their hope? Where was the family he used to have, the family who could face hard times with hope, perseverance, and love?

It made PJ sick to look at them now. In the past, they had called him dumb, stupid, and brainless (well, at least Teddy had). Well, who was the dumb one now? He and Charlie were the only ones who didn't look like hopeless hobos. Charlie, so innocent and young, was stuck in the middle of this and PJ was the only one trying to help her! PJ couldn't stand their hopelessness and the way everyone tried so hard to pretend there was no world outside of their home. He was going give the other Duncans a piece his mind whether they liked it or not.

"What's wrong with you?" PJ yelled. "Are you proud of what you've become? You're not doing anything to bring Gabe back, yet you seem to spend all day moping about how much you want him back here! You guys are so selfish! You don't even try to help Charlie, who has no idea what is going on and you're making it even tougher on her by looking like slobs! I can't stand you!"

He didn't wait to see their reactions. He would only regret what he said and try to take it back. As he left the kitchen, he noticed Charlie sitting on the living room sofa, watching The Gurgles, her favorite television show, and playing with her dolls.

"PJ, can you take me to park?" Her bright blue eyes focused on PJ and she folded her tiny fingers so sweetly that there was no way PJ could refuse her plea.

"All right, Charlie. Let's go." His long, thin fingers intertwined with her short and stubby ones and they walked that way to the park. He had to stop down a little to walk while holding her hand but he didn't mind, not as long as Charlie was happy.

"PJ, will Gabe come back home soon?"

"I don't know. But he will. Don't ever doubt that." The teen wasn't sure if Charlie understood what the word doubt meant, but he hoped she had an idea of what he was saying.

"Is it okay at home?"

"I hope so, Charlie. I really do hope so."

Charlie's eyes filled with affection and she squeezed PJ's hand tighter.

"I love you, PJ."

"I love you, too."

And he meant it.


	5. In the Park

PJ watched from the bench as Charlie played in the park. She seemed to be enjoying herself as she scampered across the park's grassy field with other toddlers, and with PJ's help, swung in the toddler swing, the kind of swing that is closed in the front to prevent kids from falling out.

Charlie had already forgotten the ordeal at home, but PJ had not gone one second without the thought of what had happened at home passing through his mind. Would there be changes when he returned home? Probably. Would the changes be good or bad? He didn't know. If the changes were good, would the whole family be dramatically transformed from the mess he'd seen this morning to the people they used to be? He really wanted this to be what happened. If the changes were bad, would everyone turn on him and ignore him as well as Charlie? PJ hoped this would never happen.

He saw Charlie running toward his spot on the bench with a little boy stumbling behind her. She was squeezing the little boy's hand tightly as she pulled him along.

"PJ! Look! This is Perry, my very best friend. Say hi!" demanded Charlie. The smile could have spread across the whole world.

PJ tried to restrain from telling her that only last week she had declared that Megan Simon, the Simons three-year-old daughter, was her very best friend. He stuck out his hand and said, "Hi."

The little boy shook PJ's hand heartily and said, "Hey, Mister. I'm Perry and I just turned five!" He held up five fingers for emphasis.

"Don't call me 'Mister'. I'm only eighteen."

"Eighteen! You sure are old, Mister." Perry laughed. He whispered something into Charlie's ear and the two collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Perry had short brown hair, adorable brown eyes, and pale skin. He looked like a younger version of Gabe, from the twinkly eyes and mischievous smile.

"Gabe!" she cried.

PJ scanned along the entire area of the park. He thought he saw a blur where Charlie had first pointed, but dismissed it off as his own wishful thinking._ Oh, no,_ PJ thought. _She's hallucinating from all the trauma she's been through._

"Gabe!" she cried again, "I saw him!" Tears were now spilling down her rounded cheeks.

To no one in particular, Perry mused, "Gabe, huh. That's what Mommy said she named her baby before she gave him away. I wonder what she was talking about ..."

* * *

Did you get the joke? _Perry_. Bradley Steven _Perry._ If you didn't get it after that, I can't help you. Read and review.


	6. Broken, but not Destoyed

I am now a beta! Trust me , I beta better than I write.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Broken, but not Destroyed**

_How could I just let him go?_

_What's happening to me?_

_Where's Ivy when I need her?_

Those were three of the many thoughts swirling through Teddy Duncan's mind. The first one held emotions she could not begin to describe.

Anger. How dare Gabe cause her pain, both physical and emotional, just so he could run away because he was upset that he was adopted? Where did he think he was going anyway? Anyone with half a brain knew Denver was no place to run around without protection, especially in the area where he'd last been seen, Westfield\Rockville.

Guilt. Her little brother, Gabriel Benjamin Duncan, was lost in the streets of Westfield\Rockville and all she'd done to stop him was cry in the middle of the street while mouthing the words, _I still love you_. Did Gabe even feel the same way? It didn't look that way. And if he was dead, it was entirely Teddy's fault.

Depression. It was a deep, dark hole who swallowed anyone who was weak enough to let themselves be pulled in. Teddy was one of them. She was a blob of nothingness, a complete and utter mess. And it was all because she was the sole cause of her family's agony and despair. If only she'd been able catch Gabe before he'd tumbled into the cab, she could have prevented all the chaos.

Her second thought scared her almost as much as the first one. She was becoming … nothing. Teddy had allowed everything not concerning Gabe's disappearance to mean nothing to her. She hadn't bathed, brushed her teeth,or changed her clothes. She did know what was happening and tried to stop it, but she was slowly realizing was too lifeless to do much about it.

Her third thought was something that she didn't need to think about , for it was her own fault Ivy wasn't at her bedside , shaking her out of her funk. Teddy had pushed all her friends away, choosing instead to wallow in her own sadness. Spencer and Ivy had both sent her text message and voice mails. Even Emmett had left a text that read: _Rlly sry abt what hapnd. If u want 2 tlk , just cm over. _She had ignored them all. Besides, she thought, what could they possibly say or do to make her feel better? The best she thought they could say was: "_I'm so sorry you little brother is lost and very possibly dead in the streets of Denver. So you wanna catch a movie?"_

And that would only make it worse.

Teddy had to fix herself, she knew. And she would start by texting back her friends (and Emmett).

She replied to Emmett: _sry , i don't want 2 tlk. Thx 4 caring. :)_ She had never had a real friendship with Emmett but she still felt he deserved a reply. Teddy had no interest in talking to him about what had happened, though, and she hoped the message expressed that as kindly as possible. She texted to Ivy: _i'm so down. maybe u can cm over tmrw. this house needs a smile. ;)_Teddy could not imagine how her texts were so cheerful when she was so … not. She couldn't even imagine how Ivy would react when she saw how depressed everyone was. Her reaction wouldn'tbe pretty, that was for sure, Teddy thought, remembering Ivy's reaction to Teddy post-her break-up to Spencer.

Now Spencer. He would be probably be the hardest to text because she had to break the news that they were... breaking up.

She felt so lousy, breaking up by text message, but she felt it was the easiest way. Teddy couldn't call him because if he used the same sad, desperate tone in his voice that he used when he left the voicemails when she broke the news, her voice would begin to crack and she'd be in tears and she'd hang up. Teddy couldn't ever imagine what a terrible call that it would be for both of them. She couldn't muster up enough strength to tell him in person. Texting was the only way.

Teddy wasn't exactly sure what she was going to write. She knew exactly why she was dumping him, though. It was all in Spencer's best interest. Right now, she was a wreck. She couldn't let a caring boyfriend like Spencer worry about her when she was stuck in a messy state of life. Teddy also wanted Spencer to be free. If he was tied down to her , a girl who was spending all her free time worrying and looking for her lost brother , what fun could he have? _It's all in Spencer best interest_, she assured herself again.

She texted him: _Sry, but i can't be ur GF anymr. Mybe we can B a cple when this is ovr. it's not u ,it's hope u can 4give me._

Teddy felt like a jerk. Breaking up by text message was so cruel. That line she used "it's not u, it's me" was so over-used, so cliché that she hated herself for even using it. Well, at least she had gotten it over with. It was time for the next step.

Teddy reached for her pink camcorder and turned it on. It had been almost a week since she'd last left Charlie a video diary. This, however, would not be a video diary. It would be more like a video record. She took a deep breath and pressed record. Teddy was ready to speak.

"Hi, Charlie. This is Teddy, your big sister. Not like you don't know that already. The reason I look like such a mess is because I'm upset that your big brother Gabe is missing. Hopefully, by the time you see this he is back and getting in to trouble like usual. Well, I should fill you in. He's been missing for six days and the last place he was seen was the Westfield\Rockville area. That was also six days ago. That's all we know, for now. I have a new catchphrase for you, Charlie. It's have hope Charlie. Something we all need."

* * *

Sorry this took so long , school started a lot earlier that I thought. Don't ask about ANTs at Hogwarts , the chapter will come when it comes. On to the story. This chapter was all over the place but Teddy is all over the place now so it fit. Don't kill me for having Teddy and Spence break up , they will get back together eventually. Excuse my terrible text-speak. I'm going to tease you by not going to where Gabe is for a while. The next chapter will be short. Read and review!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven-Web of Lies

Amy Duncan did not cry her tears based on the loss of her son alone. Far from it.

She cried for many other reasons. But mostly she wept because everything was suddenly so clear and she could not believe how blind she was not to see everything as it truly was.

Amy cried for the woman and her baby, for Gabe and Teddy, for Charlie and PJ, for Bob and the unnamed baby. And though she did not know it until till much later, Amy also wept for sweet little Perry and the web of lies he was ensnared in.

* * *

If Bob Duncan were to look in the mirror at that very moment, he would have seen himself for how he looked right then: filthy, unshaven and pathetic. It was probably a good thing he didn't have a mirror on him.

He could his wife's pained sobs from their bedroom, which was across the hall from his office. Several times Bob had thought of comforting her, but he had no idea what to say without revealing everything to her. If that happened, who knew what the future would hold for the Duncans?

If Bob couldn't afford to take a chance like that. In a way, it's like gambling, he thought. One wrong bet and you lose it all.

To Bob, losing it all meant losing the façade of a perfect family he had built up all these years, potentially ruining the lives of several people, and…losing the woman he loved.

That was why he had to find Gabe before Gabe found what he was looking for. That was why he had spent the past few days endlessly searching for any spotting of his son.

Bob thought back to what PJ had said to the family. He could clearly remember the anger on PJ's face and how he called them stupid slobs. Bob knew he had done some very stupid things and was acting a bit like a slob, but he also knew the past couldn't be changed and appearances didn't matter right now.

All that mattered was finding Gabe.

Bob took another swig of his coffee. Getting Gabe back home was the only way to ensure that life turned back to normal. Anything else would have to come after.

Finding Gabe was Bob's number one priority.

And he wouldn't stop until he did.

* * *

END OF PART ONE

A/N: Read and review. Leave any ideas in the reviews.


End file.
